Restaurant: All-Purpose (Washington, D.C.)

Buona pizza

It's hard to believe there was a time--not too long ago--when 2 Amys was viewed as the only serious pizza game in town. My how things have changed.

Today, Washingtonians have an almost embarrassing selection of riches when it comes to finding good pizza. Comet Ping-Pong, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last weekend, perfected the casual vibe of a neighborhood pizzeria with decidedly fine quality wood-fired-oven pizzas. Wiseguy NY Pizza satisfied that craving for New York-style pizza without going to The Big Apple. And the 14th Street crowd are in good hands with the pies from Etto, a 2 Amys offshoot, and Ghibellina. I've enjoyed quite good pizza at Ardeo, Arcuri, Graffito and Vace. Almost every style of pizza is well-covered here, save for good Chicago-style pizza, which is MIA since the closure of Armand's Tenleytown a few years ago (and yes, I'm aware of District of Pi--the less said, the better). A few other places I haven't visited, such as Il Canale and Menomalé, also draw rave reviews. And while it's not exactly "gourmet," an Adams-Morgan Jumbo Slice certainly hits the spot in the wee hours of the morning after a night of bar-hopping.

Against this backdrop of seemingly endless choices for crust, sauce, cheese and toppings, I was skeptical when I heard that D.C. was getting yet another pizzeria with All-Purpose. Sure, it was opening in Shaw, the city's white-hot restaurant neighborhood, with a prime slot near 9th & N, a geographic focal point of the D.C. new food boom.

That skepticism quickly vanished after my first visit to the handsome and inviting establishment.

Sleepy Hollow pizza

My first trip to All-Purpose was at lunch, just days after Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema named the restaurant his favorite in the city for his annual Fall Dining Guide. I arrived early, expecting it to be busy, but was actually surprised by how sparsely packed the dining room was (note to All-Purpose fans: weekday lunch appears to be a good time to get a table here. Second note to All-Purpose fans, unlike other hot D.C. restaurants, they take reservations! Yay!). With the piling accolades, I was expecting something fancy, but All-Purpose has a very casual, laid-back vibe, with bare wood tables, wood paneling and tile flooring (all those hard surfaces, while lovely, do make for a pretty noisy restaurant when it is busy).

All-Purpose's warmth doesn't stop at the decor. The staff is quite friendly too. Both during my lunch and dinner visits, I encountered friendly hosts, managers and servers, the last of which were efficient, attentive and prepared to answer questions. I even got to chat with one of the cooks who came out of the kitchen to tell me how they make their dough (more on that later).

Starting the evening with a cocktail isn't a bad idea. All-Purpose's drinks list includes a short menu of classic cocktails like a Black Manhattan, an Italian spin on the whiskey classic that substitutes Averna for sweet vermouth. There's also a short list of European and American wines by the glass, a longer list of beers and a quite long list of wines by the bottle.

And the pizza? It's divine. Absolutely among the best pizza I've had in D.C. or anywhere. During my first visit I ordered the Buona, quite possibly the best pepperoni pizza I've had in my life. It's insanely good. Simple too: large slices of pepperoni, chili-honey (basically lightly spicy honey) and fresh basil top a traditional base of mozzarella and tomato sauce. I'm getting hungry writing about it. It was so good that when Chris and I went for dinner a couple weeks later, I insisted he try it too. We also got the Sleepy Hollow, a seasonally delicious mixture of roasted Brussels sprouts, pancetta, smoked mozzarella, onion and tomato sauce. As much as I loved the Buona, it would be hard to say I preferred it over the equally masterful Sleepy Hollow.

Caesar Salad

All-Purpose pizzas come in an individual size, so ordering several and sharing (or if you must, one for yourself) works great. Although pizza is clearly the focus here, All-Purpose offers a few other entrees, including a lasagna, and quite a few small plates. At lunch, there are also some sandwiches. During dinner, we started the evening with a fresh-tasting Caesar salad, which arrives as a stack of little gem lettuce leaves coated with a nicely acidic anchovy dressing, parmesan and breadcrumbs (quite small, so don't expect croutons). If you like the Caesar, it also shows up at lunch as the Cape May pizza, which I haven't had but hear is another standout.

Now let's talk about that pizza crust. You know how sometimes you eat pizza and skip eating the final arc-shaped piece of crust without toppings? (Yes, I know this practice is anathema to many of you, but some employ it as a way of portion-control.) Well, you won't want to do that here, because the crust is absolutely delicious. This is where chef Mike Friedman has gotten quite inventive. All-Purpose uses a blend of flours that includes whole-wheat flour--unusual, since most pizza just uses all-purpose flour (sort of ironic, given their name). It also incorporates malt powder, which gives the yeast an additional source of fuel while also providing caramelization for the crust when it bakes. Then, the dough is aged for 3 days, allowing for significant fermentation. The pizzas are baked in a deck oven, rather than the trendy wood-fired oven.

If you're hankering for dessert, All-Purpose has a partnership with Tiffany MacIsaac's next-door bakery, Buttercream, an inspired establishment in its own right. Although the cakes sound amazing, we split a delicious dish of peanut-butter soft-serve ice cream with caramel sauce and cookie crumbles (the menu said it had a concord grape element too, although I couldn't discern that by taste). If you're thinking of skipping dessert, at least stop next door and pick up a few of Buttercream's wonderful cookies for later. You won't regret it, nor will you regret giving this gem of a pizza restaurant a chance.

All Purpose, 1250 9th Street NW (near M Street across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center). (202) 849-6174. Reservations: Resy.

8-2-Eat: Favorite Mezcal Cocktails

8-2-Eat is my food-focused list series. A perfect Friday distraction. This week I've focused on mezcal, my favorite spirit, with a trip to D.C.'s new mezcal- and Oaxaca-focused restaurant, Espita Mezcaleria and a look at a book all about the spirit, Holy Smoke! It's Mezcal! Finishing the week, here's 8...or rather 17...great cocktails made with mezcal.

Margarita. Starting with something familiar, a margarita is a great way to get a first taste of mezcal, since it's in a familiar setting of the tart and sweet classic, but just a bit smoky. Dave Arnold's Smoky Frozen Margarita, from his book Liquid Intelligence, plays on mezcal's affinity for chartreuse. The Margarita on Fire plays on mescal's affinity for heat with Bittermens Hellfire habanero shrub (since, after all, where there's smoke, there's fire). The Smoky Pear Margarita drops the margarita's usual orange flavor in favor of pear. Lastly, Mom's Mezcal Margarita, which I found in John McEvoy's Holy Smoke! It's Mezcal! book that I wrote about earlier this week, is a wonderful variation on a mezcal margarita with brandy and Peychaud's bitters.

Oaxaca Old Fashioned. This modern classic from Death & Co is where mezcal really gets a chance to shine. It's an elegantly simple (brilliant really) play on the classic Old Fashioned where tequila and mezcal sit in for whiskey and agave replaces simple sugar.  The bitters is a good place to get creative--Angostura is in the original recipe, and many, including me, like it with Bittermens Xocolatl mole bitters for yet another nod to Oaxaca. The original recipe has 3 parts tequila to 1 part mezcal, but as you drink this cocktail more, I think you'll appreciate upping the proportion of mezcal (in fact, I like now with all mezcal).

Division Bell. Mayahuel in New York is our favorite place to drink mezcal. I wrote about the bar after our first visit last September and again this January. A few years ago, before I'd ever stepped foot inside, I had already heard about the bar's reputation for crafting excellent cocktails like Jacko's End and the Smoked Palomino. It was after our first visit that I shared their recipe for the Division Bell, a great example of a summer mezcal cocktail that isn't a margarita, its smokiness playing off the sunny-citrusy Aperol with just a touch of maraschino liqueur (it only takes a touch of that stuff). Another good mezcal and Aperol combination is Naked and Famous, developed at Death & Co as play on the Last Word where the drink's four components are in equal proportion.

Broken Oath. Citrus and agave flavors are hallmarks of margaritas and play well with mezcal too, but here's a drink that goes in an entirely different direction, marked by darker, bitter and savory flavors of sherry, coffee and sweet vermouth. Of course, it's another winner from Death & Co.

6666 Miles. Also with coffee liqueur, although much simpler than the Broken Oath, this is my attempt at a sort of homage to the Oaxaca Old Fashioned by recreating an existing classic--in this case, a Black Russian--with mezcal. The name comes from the distance between Moscow and Mexico City.

Sweet Lips. This is also from McEvoy's Holy Smoke! It's Mezcal! book, a fantastically sweet and spicy drink made with fresh serrano chile peppers (for some serious kick) and homemade vanilla syrup. While I enjoyed all three of the cocktails I made from the book, this was my favorite.

The Lightsaber (pictured at top). Mezcal has featured prominently in my Oscar-themed cocktails over the years. My Star Wars: The Force Awakens-themed drink, The Lightsaber, was one of my favorites this year, a smoky take on a swizzle drink made with mezcal, cachaça, crème de cacao, blue curaçao and lime. Other mezcal-based favorite Oscar drinks include Whiplash, The Red Planet (The Martian, pictured at right) and The Market Fizz(led) (The Big Short).

Spicy Aztec Hot Chocolate with Mezcal. I'll finish this list with a dessert cocktail, a wonderfully Mexican take on boozy hot chocolate with mezcal, cinnamon, mole bitters and habanero shrub.

Getting Serious about Mezcal

6666 Miles Cocktail

It's time to get serious about mezcal. The days of dismissing it as a second-rate spirit with a dead insect in it are over. Mezcal producers have become much more sophisticated, and high-quality mezcal is proliferating at good cocktail bars and liquor stores near you.

Leading the pack is Del Maguey. Rather than operating as a single distillery, Del Maguey works with a collection of small-scale producers making mezcal using traditional methods in various villages around the Oaxaca region of Mexico. According to the company's website, each of its mezcals is made by a family-run producer in a small village. Thus, Del Maguey markets most of its mezcal line as "single-village mezcals," which are also certified by the USDA as organic.

The company celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Ron Cooper started it in 1995 with the intention of expanding the availability of artisanal mezcals produced through traditional means. Cooper himself is clearly very passionate about mezcal--there's a great interview with him on the Del Maguey site. But he also has a background in art, which is reflected in the beautiful and unique way Del Maguey packages its mezcals in green bottles each with a different colorful illustration. Some of these works were designed by Ken Price, an artist friend of Cooper's who died in 2012.

Del Maguey definitely has a cool factor. Its mezcals are prominently featured on the bar shelf at the renowned East Village bar Mayahuel (their spirits menu boasts 13 of the company's mezcals). Del Maguey even teamed up with José Andrés recently to make a ham-flavored mezcal. What they don't have...a worm larva in their bottles, a practice I've read came about to mask the flavor of inferior mezcals, which Del Maguey certainly are not.

Our recent visit to Mayahuel is what sparked my renewed interest in mezcal. I've been a fan of their Vida mezcal for sometime, but wanted to try some of the other types. These can be harder to find, but I am seeing them more often in liquor stores, including in D.C. at Eye Street Cellars, a relatively recent addition to Mount Vernon Triangle, which carries a good selection. I picked up several bottles there recently.

Del Maguey mezcals

Vida is a great place to start with the Del Maguey line. It's smoky, but not intensely so like some mezcals. It's very clean and refreshing. It's a wonderful choice for cocktails, both because it's easy to get ahold of and mixes well. Vida can usually be found for around $35, which makes it an affordable mezcal (they can get quite pricey), particular for something of this quality. Vida comes from San Luis Del Rio.

Moving into something a little different, there's Chichicapa, named after the village where it's made (most of the Del Maguey mezcals, except for Vida, which means "life" are named for the villages where they are made). It's not as smoky as Vida, but has a spicier, more complex flavor.

Lastly, we tried Creme de Mezcal, which is a little different, since it's 90 percent mezcal and 10 percent agave, making what some would call a "mezcal liqueur." The agave's sweetness further smooths out the mezcal, making this a very sippable concoction. I could see this being very useful for crafting mezcal cocktails without needing the addition of agave or simple syrup.

So how does mezcal work in cocktails? Rather well actually. I love that they combine the characteristics of a good tequila with the smoky nose akin to a peaty Scotch. Mezcals are a natural to pair with citrus, but they also work with other fruits, like pears, as well as coffee, chocolate and herbal flavors. They also mix well with other spirits--tequila, obviously, but also rum. I recommend tasting your mezcal before mixing it, since some mezcals work better with other flavors (I find that the smokier mezcals can be more challenging for mixing).

Oaxaca Old Fashioned

One of the best-known mezcal cocktails is the Oaxaca Old Fashioned, which was created by Phil Ward for Death & Co. The Oaxaca Old Fashioned is brilliantly simple: replace the Old Fashioned's whiskey with mezcal and use agave nectar instead of of sugar. Although the original recipe called for Angostura bitters, using mole bitters introduces yet another Oaxacan flavor. Death & Co. also originated the Naked & Famous, a drink similar to the Last Word made with mezcal instead of gin.

Of course Mayahuel makes many amazing mezcal cocktails. Among them are the Division Bell, a sunny take on a mezcal cocktail with Aperol, and the Smoked Palomino, a citrusy mezcal-sherry cocktail.

Replacing some or all of the tequila in a margarita makes for a smoky take on a familiar classic. A little chili pepper adds nice heat too to the Margarita on Fire, and Dave Arnold's version of the classic frozen margarita made with mezcal, orange liqueur and chartreuse is a brilliant revision of that summer favorite. I also like this smoky pear margarita.

For a hot drink, warm up on a cold day with Spicy Aztec Hot Chocolate with Mezcal, a recipe that comes from Serious Eats' J. Kenji López-Alt.

For other ideas, Del Maguey's website has an extensive list of mezcal cocktails. The Going Back to Mezcali piqued my interest, both because it sounds delicious (and is) and because it's by Donato Alvarez of Sixth Engine in D.C. I changed the garnish a bit: instead of the cold-smoked lime peel, I did a flamed lime peel. Lastly, I concocted the 6666 Miles below, as a sort of nod to the Oaxaca Old Fashioned. Like that drink, I took an existing classic--the Black Russian--and replaced its base spirit with mezcal. I also added some mole bitters. I call it 6666 Miles because that's the approximate distance from Moscow to Mexico City.

6666 Miles
(Photo at top)

2 oz. Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal
1 oz. coffee liqueur (Kahlúa will work; I used a homemade liqueur)
2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl mole bitters
Bing cherry, garnish

Combine mezcal, coffee liqueur and bitters in a cocktail mixing glass with ice. Stir until very cold. Strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with cherry.

Going Back to Mezcali

Going Back to Mezcali
Adapted from a recipe by Donato Alvarez of Sixth Engine, Washington, D.C.

2-3 slices of cucumber
1 oz. Del Maguey Vida mezcal
1 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
1 oz. Aperol
1 oz. lime juice
Flamed lime peel, garnish (note: the original recipe calls for a cold-smoked lime peel)

Add cucumber to a cocktail shaker and muddle. Fill with ice and add the mezcal, Chartreuse, Aperol and lime juice and shake until very cold. Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the flamed lime peel.

Related

Death & Co. Modern Classic Cocktails (includes recipes for Oaxaca Old Fashioned and the Naked and Famous)

Cocktail Bar: Going Two Rounds at Mayahuel (includes the Division Bell recipe)

Mayahuel Mezcal Cocktails (includes the Smoked Palomino recipe)

Margarita on Fire

Smoky Frozen Margarita

Smoky Pear Margarita

Spicy Aztec Hot Chocolate with Mezcal

Dining Notes from New York, January 2016

We've visited New York enough times now that we have a number of favorite spots. It's easy to go back to them. But during our recent trip, I wanted to focus on visiting new places, so we headed to a trio of "hot and new" type places plus a taqueria that I've been wanting to try for years. We also made a return trip to last year's favorite bar, which further strengthened our view of said bar as our favorite.

Timna - Not Your Typical Middle Eastern

Middle Eastern cuisine has been popular for while, but Timna does a good job expanding its flavors beyond the usual ingredients. A helping of the kubaneh bread is an essential starter. The buttery, pillowy bread--similar in flavor and texture a soft brioche--arrives in a flower pot for you to tear off little pieces to swipe through the creamy labaneh (strained yogurt) and chunky tomato dip. Chewy farro grains arrive topped with an assortment of vegetables, including beets and wonderfully charred zucchini, dressed with tahini and sweetened with a little date molasses.

For our main entrees, I chose the wild fish, which our serve said was tilefish. The flaky white fish was perfectly cooked and accompanied by spinach, chickpeas and artichokes. Chris opted for the pumpkin and ricotta ravioli, which arrive with more artichokes and pumpkin seeds. Both of these dishes were good, although I liked our starters better. We finished with the chocolate pudding with caramelized banana slices, shaved coconut and an enticing whiskey-nougat ice cream.

Tucked away below ground-level in the East Village, Timna is a handsome little restaurant decorated with slate blue paint and roughed-up exposed brick and lit with low honey lighting. Service here was fine, not problematic but not exceptional. The restaurant has received a number of accolades, including being named last year's best new restaurant by USA Today. I would definitely recommend this place, although it wasn't our favorite of the week.

Kat & Theo - Tasteful and Cozy
[2019 update: Kat & Theo has closed]

Another night, we popped into Kat & Theo, a beautiful space in Flatiron serving comforting classics from American and European influences.

Needing something green, we started with a frisee salad, which was simply adorned with crispy lamb bacon and radish slices. We went meaty for our mains: I had the tender lamb shank, which came with farro and roasted vegetables. Chris had the flatiron steak, which was cooked a just-right medium-rare and served with vegetables.

Both of our meat dishes were very good, but our side of cauliflower stole the show.  The roasted florets are draped with a sweet fig and pine nut sauce, which made for a perfect accompaniment. Our dessert, a deconstructed carrot cake, was also quite tasty.

Kat & Theo also has an interesting cocktail menu. I sprang for the Coco Rosie, which had a lot of good flavor with its cardamom-infused rye, rum, currant liqueur and coconut. Unfortunately, this drink was served in a tall glass but with a regular-size straw.

Service here was among the best we enjoyed during our week in New York, mostly due to friendly who made the evening go quite smoothly.

L'Amico - Buzzy and Busy

Last of the "hot and new" places was L'Amico, a somewhat lazy pick, since we were staying in the Eventi Hotel where this Italian hot spot is located. The restaurant is an attractive corner space in the hotel building, warmly lit with good views onto the street. It's also quite bustling--vacant tables didn't stay that way long, and most of the people around us looked to be having a great time.

I thought all our food was good, but nothing really stood out as particularly memorable. I preferred our starters to our entrees. Creamy burrata arrived flecked with the unmistakable scent of shaved truffles, and the Brussels sprouts salad was nicely composed with hazelnuts, salsify and pance (like bacon). The charred kale pizza was bit overcooked--the charred kale itself was great, as well as its pairing with caraway, onion and pecorino and robiola cheeses--but the crust was burnt in places. I love a well-charred pizza crust, but this crossed that unfortunately line into ashy territory. Fusilli wth spicy sausage, bitter greens, pine nuts and pecorino was a satisfying pasta dish.

Also noteworthy was the Brooklyn Bound cocktail, which nice enhanced the flavors of the classic Brooklyn cocktail--usually made with rye, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and bitters--with Italian Punt e Mes and Ramazotti, plus Luxardo maraschino liqueur that's been infused with star anise. Lastly, I've read that the service here can be spotty, but am pleased to report that we experienced no issues with the service, which was friendly and efficient.

Empellón Taqueria - Our Best Meal of the Week

The best meal of the week was not from one of these newcomers, but Empellón Taqueria, hands down. Everything about our visit clicked: food, drinks and service. We arrived a little early, and it was pouring rain outside. Did that phase Empellón? Not at all. They happily seated us and quickly got us started with some guacamole and a round of margaritas. I'm a sucker for a good mezcal margarita, and Empellon's is nicely done, including a rim of smoked salt. If you like your margarita a little spicy, the spicy cucumber is also a great one, done with blanco tequila, fresh cucumber, jalapeño tincture and chile salt.

The guacamole was excellent--freshly prepared (not by the table but in the kitchen where food is supposed to be prepared) and served with really good corn chips and two salsas: a spicy red and the creamy smoked cashew. We also enjoyed a starter of smoked plantains, which arrived not in the sliced-and-fried format I was expecting but formed into crisp little cups filled with mashed plantains topped with a dollop of fresh crema. Because I think playing with celery and peanuts can be interesting, we also ordered the celery root vegetable starter with toasted peanuts, which reminded me a bit of the roasted celery with peanut sauce I made last year.

Of course, this is a taqueria, so we did our part to order a selection of tacos, all of which were really good. The Sunday special tacos of cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork) topped with pickled onions and cilantro arrived first, whetting our appetite for more. It was soon sated by the equally delicious Brussel sprouts tacos and, perhaps our favorite, the skirt steak tacos, which were stuffed with tender steak, onion and mojo de ajo, a spicy garlicky gravy. We capped this wonderful meal with a helping of chocolate flan served with Mexican cinnamon ice cream--a great way to end a great meal.

Service at Empellón was uniformly excellent. The hostesses greeted us warmly as we arrived (early) in from the rain. Our server was friendly and efficient, the bar provided our drink orders quickly and nobody removed a plate from our table without asking first, which I really appreciated.

With this dinner, Empellón Taqueria replaced The Black Ant as our new favorite Mexican restaurant in New York. It was so good, that I will make a point to revisit its sister restaurant, Empellón Cocina, which we visited in 2012. At the time, we were disappointed, although I thought a number of the dishes were really interesting (including the cashew salsa, which I made at home). Perhaps they or we were having an off night, so I think a second look is in order. I also want to visit Alex Stupak's newest Empellón, Empellón al Pastor, which focuses on al pastor tacos while also having a number of other tacos on the menu (and drinks of course).

Mayahuel - Still New York's Best Cocktail Bar
[2018 update: Mayahuel has closed]

Lastly, we popped into Mayahuel for a drink before dinner one night in the East Village. We visited Mayahuel last summer and were smitten with the bar's unique take on mezcal- and tequila-focused cocktails. Our more recent visit further cemented Mayahuel's status as our favorite bar (in New York or elsewhere). Once again, each drink we had was amazing--tasty, interesting and well-made. The best place to sit in Mayahuel is at the bar, since you can watch the bartenders work with their arsenal of spirits, mixers, garnishes and equipment. They are a very exacting, knowledgable and friendly lot.

Last time we were there, I tried the Dijahbone, which was unique because it was made not with mezcal or tequila but sotol, another Mexican spirit that is slowly emerging in the U.S. I was excited to see that Mayahuel has expanded their use of sotol into its own category of drinks on the menu, with five choices at present. The Chance Seeding blends sotol with sherry, apple, Velvet Falernum and line, with the cheesy funkiness of the sotol playing so well with the apple. We also really enjoyed the Mamasita, a sort of Negroni riff with tequila, sweet vermouth, Campari, maraschino liqueur, a touch of mezcal and whiskey-barrel-aged bitters. Best cocktail of the night--and the entire trip--was the Six Shooter, a fantastic dark and smoky drink made with mezcal, two kinds of rum, Punt e Mes, Rammazotti and orange and Angostura bitters.

After our dinner, we tried to get into Amor Y Amargo, but it was packed, and Death & Co had a 1 1/2 hour wait. So we found ourselves back at Mayahuel to finish our evening with yet another round of amazing drinks. Although I think of Mayahuel as a bar, it's a restaurant too--next time, we'll definitely be staying for dinner (we had a bit of a preview--I couldn't resist ordering some churros with chocolate, which were amazing).

Empellón Taqueria, 230 W 4th Street (at W 10th Street), New York, NY (West Village). (212) 367-0999. Reservations: Open Table.

Kat & Theo, 5 West 21st Street (at 5th Avenue), New York, NY (Flatiron). (212) 380-1950. Reservations: Open Table.

L'Amico, 849 6th Avenue (between 29th and 30th Streets in the Eventi Hotel), New York, NY (Chelsea), (212) 201-4065. Reservations: Open Table.

Mayahuel, 304 East 6th Street (near 2nd Avenue), New York, NY (East Village). (212) 253-5888.

Timna, 109 St. Marks Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A), New York, NY (East Village). (646) 964-5181. Reservations: Open Table.

Black Eyed Peas with Bacon and Chard

Do you believe in luck? Many people don't; I don't really--except that I sort of do. Like a lot of people, I know that many things in life happen by chance. I believe "luck" is when those are things you want to have happen. Like winning a contest, unexpectedly running into an old friend or being the last person to snag something special.

Certainly the number of things we do for luck attests to our belief in it. We kiss the Blarney stone, knock on wood and hunt for four-leaf clovers.

Then there's the practice of eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day. It's a tradition many Southerners observed, which I hadn't heard of until just recently, having read an article about it in the New York Times Food section.

There are quite a few explanations for the practice, many of which date back to the Civil War and some go back to ancient times.

Although it's not a tradition I'm tied to, I'm certainly not one to turn down a good bowl of pork and beans with greens, which is what I made, inspired by the accompanying recipe by Kim Severson, as well as another Times recipe by David Tanis, I made my own version of the dish. Their dishes call for using dried or fresh peas, as well as ham hocks. They cook for several hours, which I'm sure is delicious, but I wanted a faster recipe--something you could make midweek to enjoy black eyed peas any day of the winter, not just on New Year's Day. So I use canned black eyed peas and bacon, specifically the hickory-smoked bacon from Benton's that I love so much.

Black Eyed Peas with Bacon and Chard
Inspired by recipes by Kim Severson and David Tanis for Black Eyed Peas

1/2 lb. thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon, cut into 1/2 pieces
1 large sweet or yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes (use more or less depending on your taste for heat)
1 bunch (about 1 lb.) Swiss or rainbow chard, leaves removed and cut into 1-inch wide strips, stems discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
15 oz. can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 bay leaf

1. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven or other large soup pot over medium heat. When browned and crisp, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tbsp. of the hot bacon fat in the pot (use the rest for something else, like thin and crispy cornbread).

2. Add the onion to the pot and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Ad the garlic and chili pepper flakes and cook another couple minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Add the chard leaves, season with salt and pepper and stir to mix with the other ingredients. Allow the chard to wilt a bit, then add the cooked bacon, black eyed peas, chicken stock, allspice and bay leaf. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and serve with cornbread and an old fashioned (recipe below).

Old Fashioned Cocktail

2 oz. bourbon whiskey
1/4 oz. simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Orange peel garnish
Maraschino cherry garnish

Combine whiskey, simple syrup and bitters in a cocktail mixing glass with ice. Stir until very cold, then strain into a rocks glass with a single large ice cube. Squeeze the orange peel over the drink, rub it around the rim of the glass and drop it in. Add the cherry and serve.

Gift Ideas for Food and Drink Lovers

There are 11 days until Christmas. In the age of Amazon Prime 2-day free delivery, there's still plenty of time to choose a present for that special someone who loves to eat and drink. Stumped as to what to get them? Here are some ideas.

Wine

For the wine lover, the obvious choice is a bottle of wine, but this can be a fairly tricky purchase. You want something special that will appeal to their refined palate. You want something interesting that isn't what you find at the grocery store. You want to spend enough to get something good but not break the bank. Dracaena Wines 2013 Cabernet Franc meets all of these requirements in addition to being a really delicious red wine. Not familiar with cabernet franc? It's one of the "parent" grapes (along with sauvignon blanc) of cabernet sauvignon, that ruby jewel beloved by many as the most popular red wine. Cabernet franc is generally lighter than sauvignon (especially as Chinon, which I discussed as a good Thanksgiving wine) and earthier. It's wonderful as a blending with with cabernet sauvignon--many of the best bottles I've had have 5 to 15 percent cab franc added to them. But it's also delicious on its own.

Dracaena Wines' cab franc is exactly how I like my cab franc to be: on the bigger side with subtly earthy flavors but not that "barnyard" quality of some cab francs. It's the kind of red you can sip by itself or enjoy with food (we had ours with pizza, which was a pretty perfect match). This wine is actually 85 percent cab franc and 15 percent petite sirah, another lesser known but really wonderful red wine. Dracaena Wines owners Lori and Mike Budd are active on Twitter (@dracaenawines) and MangiaTV's Monday night "vamps" (video chats), where I've gotten to know them. You can order Dracaena Wines 2013 Cabernet France directly from their website for $28 per bottle or by the case at a 15% discount.

Spice Rub

Speaking of Mangia, a bag (or more) of their Cajun-style dry rub would make a perfect stocking stuffer. These versatile spice blends--available in hot and sweet versions--are wonderful with meat, fish and vegetables of all kinds (read about how I like to use their rubs here). Mangia's Bob Heffernan hosts a weekly online video chat (most every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. eastern), a wonderful place to chat with like-minded foodies and discuss Bob's perspectives on food, community and fun. Mangia rub is available from the company's website for $6 per bag or $9 per two-pack. Become friends with Bob online  (Twitter: @mangiaTV) and you may discover ways to get occasional discounts too.

Bacon

My husband always does a nice job of buying me Christmas gifts, but last year, he got extra points for a particularly thoughtful surprise: 4 pounds of bacon. Now, we're not just talking any bacon but my favorite bacon: Benton's Hickory-Smoked Country Bacon. Bacon has been "a thing" for years now, and Benton's thick bacon has been a favorite for its wonderful meaty flavor and intensely smoky aroma--your kitchen will smell like someone has a campfire burning when you're cooking it. You can order Benton's bacon in 4-lb packs (four separately wrapped 1-pound packs) for $30 from the company's website. Also, check out my recipes from this year where I used Benton's bacon, including Cauliflower-Bacon Clam Chowder, Smoky Bacon Macaroni & Cheese, Punchier Potato-Leek Soup and Three-Peas Farro Risotto with Bacon.

Barware

Cocktail lovers can always use new and interesting barware. Arctic Chill has set itself apart as a manufacturer of innovative barware. Last year, I talked about their metal muddler. This year, I enjoyed using their ice sphere trays, which each make four 2-inch spherical ice cubes (two cubes fit nicely into a standard-size rocks glass), and their wine aerator. I'm not always sold on whether aerating is necessary or works well, but I have noticed that this aerator "softens" wines a bit, and it's very easy to use: simply put it in the top of an opened wine bottle and pour. Perhaps best of all, the spout makes wine-pouring a no-mess experience. Arctic Chill's products are available from Amazon, the wine aerator for $9 and the ice molds as a set of two for $12. [Note: Arctic Chill provided the products mentioned in this review.]

Cocktail Bitters

Lots of people have a bottle of Angostura bitters kicking around their home bar, but that's just a start to the wonderful world of cocktail bitters, which come in so many amazing flavors. Last year, I did a series of posts about bitters, which many consider to be the "salt and pepper" of good cocktails. Bitters make a nice gift because they don't require refrigeration and they last indefinitely. Some of my favorites: Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters, which add wintery-cinnamon-and-spice notes to drinks like an Old-Fashioned or a Winter Manhattan ($18 at Amazon); Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters, the spicy Mole-inspired bitters that launched the Bittermens line, which are wonderful in an Improved Tequila Cocktail or Oaxaca Old Fashioned ($21 at Amazon); and Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6, developed by cocktail legend Gary "Gaz" Regan, which are perfect for adding a hint of citrus to drinks like the Barrel-Aged Berlioni ($8 at Amazon, also generally available in most good liquor stores). Not ready to commit to a full bottle? Scrappy's sells two bitters samplers, which each contain four small bottles of bitters. Set 1 has lavender, chocolate, cardamom and grapefruit ($24 at Amazon); set 2 has orange, celery, Orleans and aromatic ($24 at Amazon, get both from Amazon for $40).

Books

I have a lot of books to recommend this year, so head on over to my related post on food and drink book gift ideas.

November 2015 Digest

Thanksgiving, Gobbled Up

November is always a unique month for me. Other months I have a mix of recipes, cocktails and restaurant posts, along with the occasional "other" food-related thing that interests me. But November is all about Thanksgiving, which means its all about recipes. Lots of recipes.

A few themes ran through the recipes I presented this year. The idea of reinterpreting traditional dishes led me to take The Silver Palate Cookbook's classic Chicken Marbella recipe and adapt those wonderful Spanish flavors into Marbella-Brined Roast Turkey Breast. Similarly, I played around with the idea that people stuff their turkeys because it gives the stuffing turkey flavor. I reserved this--using the stuffing to instead flavor the turkey with Stuffing-Brined Roast Turkey Breast.

One of my favorites along these lines is the Deconstructed Sweet Potato Casserole, which reinterprets the traditional marshmallow-covered (overly) sweetened puree into a dish of roasted sweet potatoes with pecans, bacon and (just a few) mini marshmallows all brought together with a bourbon-maple sauce.

Another theme was incorporating international flair into the meal. I experimented with Indian flavors in both the Indian-Spiced Nan Bread Stuffing and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Honey-Curry Yogurt. I turned to Mexico for the inspiration behind Sweet Potatoes with Mole and Queso Fresco.

Then there were a few recipes that spoke to nostalgia and simplicity, namely my favorite recipe for Sausage-Cornbread Stuffing and a traditional take on Buttery Mashed Potatoes. And for biscuit lovers, I definitely have to mention the Butter-Flaky Biscuits.

Noodle Me Momofuku

The D.C. restaurant has undeniably heated up in recent years. The latest trend is for big-name chefs from other places, namely New York, to open outposts in D.C. Danny Meyer's burgers have been winning Washingtonians over for several years now with several locations of the New York-based Shake Shack. The biggest of such imports last year was Daniel Boulud, who opened DBGB Kitchen and Bar in the downtown CityCenter development. As popular as these spots are, neither grabbed headlines the way the arrival of David Chang's first D.C.-area Momofuku has. Much ink has been spilled in anticipation of the opening of Momofuku CCDC which, like DBGB, is located in CityCenter. Riding shotgun in the new restaurant's corner space is an outpost of the Momofuku bakery, Milk Bar, known for Christina Tosi's creative confections like crack pie and corn cookies. We snagged a much-coveted Saturday night reservation and enjoyed some pretty tasty appetizers, noodles and, of course, those cookies.

Food Recipes

Marbella-Brined Roast Turkey Breast Spanish flavors of the classic Silver Palate Cookbook recipe Chicken Marbella infuse this wet-brined turkey.

Stuffing-Brined Roast Turkey Breast Some people stuff turkeys to flavor the stuffing with the turkey. But what if you instead flavor the turkey with stuffing?

Buttery Mashed Potatoes Mashed potatoes seems simple, but there are some techniques involving how you mash and butter the potatoes for optimal texture and flavor.

Sausage-Cornbread Stuffing My all-time favorite stuffing recipe handed down from my mother.

Butternut Squash, Pecan and Bacon Bread Like pumpkin bread but with butternut squash. Oh, and bacon. Yeah, bacon.

Indian-Spiced Nan Bread Stuffing Indian spices flavor this stuffing made with Indian nan bread.

Butter-Flaky Biscuits Through folding and rolling, these biscuits have buttery flaky layers.

Apple Butter A wonderful fall accompaniment to biscuits and other breads.

Deconstructed Sweet Potato Casserole Re-thinking the Thanksgiving classic side to be less sweet and gooey with a stronger focus on good sweet potato flavor.

Kale, Smoked Gouda and Pecan Gratin Gratins are awesome because you can get credit for eating a vegetable side, but it's actually an excuse for eating something creamy and cheesy.

Green Bean Salad with Almonds and Quinoa A truly healthful side dish to help balance all these other rich holiday dishes.

Sweet Potatoes with Mole and Queso Fresco A simple side of roasted sweet potatoes with spicy Mexican mole sauce and cheese.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Honey-Curry Yogurt Another Indian-inspired dish, a simple affair of roasted sprouts and pecans with yogurt mixed with honey and curry powder.

Caramel Apple Custard Pie Another look at the apple custard pie--a nice compromise between a pumpkin pie and an apple pie--this time with a graham-cracker-coated crust and caramel sauce.

Cocktail Recipe

• A Sage Old Bourbon This whiskey and sherry cocktail, with flavors of cranberry, celery and sage, is inspired by the savory flavors of a Thanksgiving dinner.

8-2-Eat

• 8-2-Eat: Affordable Thanksgiving Wines Splurging on a Thanksgiving wine is certainly a fine thing to do, but if you're throwing a big dinner and need lots of bottles, it might help your wallet to reign things in a bit. These suggestions are all under $20.
• 8-2-Eat: Thanksgiving Cocktails Ideas for drinks to serve before, with or after the big meal.
• 8-2-Eat: Vegetable Sides It's easy to load up on carb-heavy dishes. Don't forget to serve some vegetables too.
• 8-2-Eat: Thanksgiving Leftovers Ideas for using up what remains from the big holiday feast.